High pressure roller mill



Jan. 21, 1941. M. J. sTAcoM HIGH PRESSURE ROLLER MILL Filed Deo. 11, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 /l ,.aulul ....IHM? myx... a. w w mm i T all 5 l`/ m H.. A a M. M\ Z 3 4 u T|!- 3 u 3 o o 17M Ml O mul, WMIHMHMH.. .l o o T E l .m 9.,/

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lNvEN-roR ATTORNEY Jam 21, 1941 M. J. STACQM 2,229,141

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ATTORNEY Jan. 21, 1941. M. .1. sTAcoM HIGHPRESSURE ROLLER MILL Filed Dec. 11, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR MTU/5W L/ -5` 771cm.

ATTORNEY Jan. 21, 1941. 1' M L sTAQM 2,229,141

HIGH PRESSURE ROLLER MILL Filed Dec.' 11, 193e 4 sheets-sheet 4 O I a O i:| O 46 o v INVENTOR MTW/Enf f 'TAco/z/f.

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 21, 19141 man PRESSURE ROLLER Mlm. Matthew J. Stacom, Flushing, N. Y., assigner to Stacom Process Corporation, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application neeembef 11, 193s, semi No'. 115,324

`s claims. (C1. 10o-'47) This invention relates vto apparatus for su -e\ one of the anti-friction rollers supporting the stantially dehydrating,` disintegrating and comminuting by the simplev application of tremendous pressure, natural cellulose-bearing substances such as wood, various vegetable growths,.and similar materials`. It more particularly relates to the-type of roller mill shown and described in my pending application Serial N0. 98,208, flied August 27, 1936, and also in the Allen patents" Nos. 2,196,650 and 2,196,651. The apparatus here shown is particularly designed for use in carrying out the method described and claimedlin my above noted prior application and embodies cer-v tain improvements on the apparatus there shown,

`dling the dry fragments and particles of the and in said Allen applications.

The main object of the present invention is to provide certain improvements in means for hancrushed masses when removing them from the mill.

The best form of apparatus embodying my invention at present known to me, together with one minor modification thereof are illustrated in the accompanying four sheets of drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine with parts broken away and driving gear removed for clearness.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail substantially Ihorizontal section on irregular line 3.-3 of Fig. 1, which passes under the interior roll. f A

Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation on an enlarged, scale and with parts broken away and others shown in section, illustrating moreclearly the i conguratlon of the roll pass and the guidesfor material to be delivered thereto. f'

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. y

Fig. 6 is afdetail side elevation with parts broken away and others shown in section illustrating the attachment for removing the crushed materials from the delivery side ofthe roll pass by air currents. the flanges on roll 4 being omitted. v f,

Fig. 'I isal substantially horizontal section on" irregular line 1-1 of Fig. 6. y

Fig. 8 iixa detail side 4elevation of a portion of the machine on a larger scale than that of Fig. 1.

land showing'the preferred formff gearing.

Fig. 9 is a detail section similar to Flg. 3 Ashowing a multiple set of guides for the materials' being fedto the roll pass.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail l'side elevationl of floating ring element of the mill, parts being broken away and others shown in section, and

Fig. 11 is a similar plan and partial sectional view of thev same on the line 'I I-II of Fig. 10.'

Throughout the drawings like reference char. acters indicate like parts'.v

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the general construction of the machine there shown is similar to that shown in myco-pending application Se- 10 rial No. 98,208 hereinbefore noted and comprises the base frame I on which is mounted the freely revoluble, hard steel ring 2, carried by the anti,- friction rollers' I0,-I0, the interior roll i of much less diameter than the ring, yand the exterior roll 15 -or anti-friction roller 24 journaled in the housing 9 carried by the base frame` Theroll 4 is journaled in the swinging housing 3 pivoted on the main frame at l and `said housing and roll can be forcedtoward anti-friction roller 24 by the .pistons I4, I4, reciprocating i'n hydraulic cy'linders I5, I5, to which water or other iiuid under Very great pressure is supplied through the inlet pipes I6 shown in Fig.- 2.

A drain outlet is indicated at 8 in Fig. 1 through which any liquid` expressed from the material passing through the mill may be collected in any suitable receptacle not shown.

.0n account of the great pressures used it is necessary to have oilless bearings 6, 6 for the journals of shaftS, 5, carrying rolls t. and V24 since, under the pressures. employed the usual lubrication by yoil is `not practicable, even the heaviest oil being expelled from. between the opposing surfaces'of journal and bearing. These oilless bearings are of thekind now'common in the art and consist of twopart bronze bushings having numerous small radially disposed perforation's, each of which v: ls packed with graphite. As soon as rotation of the journal begins a lm of graphite is formed on the surface of the bearing and this persfists almost indetlnitely if the surfaces are not scratched or otherwise disturbed.

44,144 are angeson the ends of r o1l\ I which nt closely against the sides of' ring 2 and serve to guide the latter during its revolution, lwhile also preventing escape of material from the pres sure zone.

rotating the three the shaft ofroll l and I3 indicates'another shaft carrying gear wheel 26 rwhich meshes with gear 25 "so as to be driven thereby and also meshes with another idler 21 which transmits motion to gear wheel 29 on the shaft' of idler roll 24. When the mill isin operation rolls 4 and 24 are forced by hydraulic pressure toward or against the inner and outer faces of roll 2, or said ring 4 is pressed against a layer of material being carried upward by the inner face of said ring. In either case ring 2 is frictionally driven around on its mathematical axis while'supported and guided by rolls 4 and 24 and by anti-friction rollers I0,`I0.

The pins 38, 38 (Figs. 1 and 2) are provided for the purpose of inserting in holes extending crosswise of the hydraulic plungers I4, I4, to limit the latters backward motion when the pressure is taken oi the hydraulic system to permit the surfaces of ring and rolls to be slightly separated .for any purpose, or to relieve the parts from strain when not in use. Y

Such limitation of backward movement of the plungers helps .to conserve the pressure uid since .a larger portion of it is then left in the cylinders during .the periods while the rolls are not operating, and this can be used again when fthe application o f pressure is resumed. 39, 39 are little chains to which the pins 38 are attached to prevent their being lost or carried away when not in use.

' loosely in housings 41, 41 as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 and 'to loosely support each one of said bearings on a ram 48 in a hydraulic 'cylinder 49 properly disposed in the main frame I, and then provide adjustablestops 46, 48, against which the laterally projecting lugs of the iournalbearings can be pressed by the ram as shown dn Fig. 10. The pressure uid in cylinders 49, 49, could be supplied from any available source through an interconnected system of pip 50, (see Figs.,y 1' and 2) but suchv piping can 'be conveniently connected .to the main pressure pipe I8 as indicated in Figa 1. If that is done there should be some kind of 'an air pressure chamber such as indicated at 52 connected to the system of piping and` there should be a cut-od valve 5I winch could be closed after the pressure on rams 48 has been adjusted. The apparatus last above Vdescribed in effect creates a hydraulic roller cradle for ring 2.

Ring2 being open at .the sides, any material on lwhich the roher mill is to operate may be introduced into its interior by hand and deposited on .the-lower inner surface thereof, orany desired automatic feed (not shown) may be employed for that purpose. s*

If 'desired the train o'f gearing I3, 28," 21 an'd29 may be omitted and .the power' for producing the desired rotation of the part-s would then be positively applied to roll 4 only, ring 2 and roll 24 being bothv frictionally driven. In such case roll 24 may have any desireddiameter, but if 'both 4l andr 24 are positively driven by gearing, as here shown, the diameter of roll 24 preferably should be enough larger than that of 4 .to give 24 the sameperipheral speed as that of the outer surface of ring 2, when 4 and 24 are postively driven at the same R. P. M.a.nd there is no slipping; of 2 on 4. This 4pigopor'rkioning ofthe roll diametersis indicated 1n Fig. 's'. on the other hand, if 4 and 24 have equal diameters :the gearing should be so designed as to'increase the R. P. M. of 24 over those of 4 sufficiently to eii'ect the same result of equalizing its peripheralspeed with that of .the outer surface of ring 20. l

I'I, III represent curved guide plates of halfcrescen't vshape supported in vertical position by brackets I-1, fastened to their lbroad, rear ends, and brackets I8 supporting rods 20 which jare Welded or otherwise fastened 'to said plates -Ivl .I I, near the smaller ends of the latter. Brackets I1 and I8 are mounted on the base fram .I, and I9 indicates a spacer rod for maintaining the rear ends of 'the plates accurately spaced apart.

These guide plates are generally" simi-lar` tothose indicated at I-I in Figs. 1 and 3 of my above mentioned copending application, but are curved or inclined one toward the other more sharply so' asuto laterally restrict to a. greater extent the path of the material being carried by ring 2 toward the pressure zone, or to .closely guide the feed movement of any narrow strip of wood such as is indicated in broken `lines at W in Fig. 5 of the drawf ings herein. The guiding action on a ribbon of loose material is indicated at M in Fig. 3. In all cases the material will be delivered at a point midway laterally of the pressure-producing area.

The distance X indicated by the short arrows rin Fig. 4, from .the apex of either guide plate III to the line which marks .the locus of maximum pressure'on any strip of wood or oi' other material passing through the rolls, should preferably be not greater than the distance X' from the apex of either guide plate III to the nearer edge of ring 2, as indicated by the short arrows in Fig. 5. This will make sure that no rear end oi' a narrow strip of wood being crushed in the mill will swing beyond said ring side edge, even if the flanges 44 here shown on roll 4 have been omitted.

These anges 44 serve a double purpose since they prevent any laterally expressed material (such as indicated in Figs. 3 or 5) from being squeezed out beyond the pressure zone and also guide the revolution of ,the oating ring 2, pre` venting it from shifting axially under any conditions which might tend to cause it to creep to ward one side or the other.

Fig. 9 illustrates a modied guide attachment for the mill which is particularly designed for. handling cornstalks. sugar cane and similar vegetation-growing in long stalks, so as to feed them to the pressure zone endwise, and always substantially parallel one to another, as indicated at C, C. In this modification, a plurality of guide plates 422, 22 are supported 'in substantially vertical positions between the outer plates' I'I, and areinclined thereto and to one another so as to form a plurality of channels al-l 4,tapering and converging toward .the roll pass. v

Preferably these channels should beso designed 'with reference one to another for use with -any particular material in the form of stalks that the portions of such stalks laterally expressed Vfrom any one of them in ornear the 'z'one of maximum pressure will merge with, but not seriously overlap on, the others. as indicated at c, c.

apart. all these plates. The assembly so formed would preferably be held together by nuts 4|, 4I, and tapered washers 40, 40.

Figs. 6 and 7 show more in detail a preferred form of means .for removing the crushed materials coming from the discharge side of the pressure zone. Nearly all the cellulose-bearing natural products and substances of similar degrees of hardness are so thoroughly disintegrated and dehydrated by the pressure applied to them in this apparatus that the crushed material can easily be removed by an air'blast, and a mechanism of that kind is here shown comprising the compressed air pipe 36 which discharges through side plate 35 in a direction such as to cause a jet of air to blow across the space between ring and roll surfaces.

Some of the crushed material usually adheres to the surfaces of the ring or roll or of both, and to yremove this adhering material and also to form with said plate and surfaces a partly eri-l closed space I have shown two knives 3| and 32 hinged together at their backs on rod 33 which is supported on brackets 42, 42, carried by the cross bar 30. Tension springs 34 hold the edge of the upper knife or scraper 3| against the surface of ring 2 and that of the lower one 32 against the surface of roll 4.

When roll 4 has flanges 44, plate 35 should have an offset portion to fit over one of such flangesand this arrangement can be secured by having an arcuate crease such 'as indicated at 43 in Fig. 1 in said plate. For simplicity the roll flanges are omitted from the portions of the roll 4 shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and in such case a ilat platecan be used as is there shown.

To collect the material blown out of the mill by the apparatus last above described,-I may provide a su'ction head or conduit 31 (shown in Figs.

6 and 7 but omitted from Fig. 2), the edge walls Aof the mouth of which are closely adjacent the collector, cyclone separator or other receptacle,

not shown.

In adjusting the machine for operation on a given material sufficient luid pressure should be admitted to cylinders 49 to raise ring 2 to exactly the desired position, valve then closed so as to hold the parts in their adjusted positions while each screw stop 46 is brought to a bearing on the journal bearing member 45 beneath it, and valve 5| thereafter opened enough to allow the inilowing iluid to rise in the air chamber 52 sufciently to produce a compressed air pressure that will set all the journal bearings firmly against stops 46. Thereafter said valve should be closed and kept closed until another setting of the parts is desired because of a change in the materials to be operated upon, or because of a drop in pressure having resulted from leakage past packings or from other causes.

In operating the mill under a hydraulic pressure of 2,000 pounds per square inch and upwards in the cylinders I5, l5 (which are each 41/2 inches in diameter), strips of pine, fir, and similar woods, green or soaked with water and one-quarter inch -thick, are crushed and extruded laterally while passing through the pressure zone in the general manner indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 5. Each such strip is thus reduced to a loose, fragile, friable mass of its constituent nbres which have been sufficiently separated for use in paper making machinery directly for certain purposes, or after relatively simple and inexpensive chemical treatment in the manufacture of excellent grades of paper.

Green cornstalks," or dried one which have been soaked in water, when fed to the pressure zone as indicatedv at C, C, in Fig. 9l are similarly crushed and expressed laterally as indicated at c, c. The entire product -of this, character derived from wood or waste garden vegetation run through this mill can be immediately put through a hammer mill in air suspension and reduced to a fineness of about 80mesh in `one operation usually. 4 l

In both the case of wood and of comstalks nearly all the saps or other contained liquids are expelled, and the remainder willevaporate rapidly on exposure to the air at room temperature. This practically frees the product from particles which' if present would be softened into sticky condition by the heat in a hammer mill and gum up the screen.

In both cases the amounts of original ethersoluble contents are found to have been sharply reduced by the milling operation.

If a loose mass of fibrous and granular material .of vegetable'origin is fed to the rolls in a narrow circumferentially'along the side edges of the pressure zone at substantially the same speed as do the portions of the edges of thering 2 which are in contact with them, and similarly at the same speed as do any compressed portions of material which may be jammed against them while passing between said ring and roll. Consequently there is no frictional drag exerted by the side edges of such compressed masses of material on said anges. On the other hand, if such highly compressed material was jammed against stationary side plates installed to prevent lts escape from the pressure zone, much friction would result with consequent waste of power and wear on the parts.

When operating on wood and other vegetable materials of light weight the crushed and pliable masses discharged upwardly from the pressure zone between ring and roll, or scraped from the latter, are easily blown or sucked out of the mill by any suitable blower or vacuum apparatus such as indicated in'Figs. 6 and 7, and hereinbefore described.

Various changes could be made in the particular construction of `the guiding means employed, or in the rotary pressure producing mechanism used in carrying out my improved procedure without departing from the underlying principles of the invention as hereinbefore explained or as defined in the appended claims or some of them.

No claim is made herein to the provision of i plication Serial No. 195,776, filed March 14. 1938, and in other copending applications.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a roller mill, the combination-of an annular ring, a roller, of smaller diameter than the interior diameter of the ring, positioned within the ring, means for forcing the ring and the -roller toward each other, scrapers extending transversely of the ring adapted, to bear upon the surface of the ring and the surface of the roller, and means for projecting a iiuid iet into and substantially confined to the enclosure formed by the horn angle between the uroller and the ring and the scrapers.

2. In a roller mill, the combination of an annular ring, a roller, of smaller diameter than the interior diameter of the ring, positioned within the ring and adapted to roll on or adjacent the surface thereof along a generally .horizontal line, means for forcing the ring and roller toward each other, scrapers extending transversely of the ring and having surfaces adapted to bear upon the surfaces of the ring and roller, a plate addacent an edge at one end of the said roller, ring and scrapes, and means for projecting a gas jet into and substantially confined to the enclosure between the scrapers and the horn angle between the surfaces of the roller and the ring.

3. An apparatus such as defined in claim 1 in which said jet projecting means comprises a pipe for compressed air located at one side of said ring and a plate extends along and in contact with the edges of said roll 4and ring from the pressure zone therebetween a considerable distance on the discharge side therefrom, one end of said pipe discharging through an opening in said plate. v

4. An apparatus such as 4dened in claim 1 in which said jet projecting means comprises a pipe for compressed air located at one side of said ring; a plate extends along and in contact with the edges of .said roll and ring from the pressure zone therebetween a considerable distance on the discharge side therefrom, one end of said pipe discharging through an opening in said plate; and a take-off conduit is provided, the intake end of which has its walls in contact with corresponding portions of the ring and roll edges on the side of the mill opposite said plate.

5. An apparatus such as defined in claim 1 in which said jet projecting means comprises a pipe for compressed air located atone side of said ring; aplate extends along and in contact with the edges of said roll and ring from the pressure zone therebetween a considerable distance on the discharge side therefrom, one end of said pipe surface of said plate across and in contactvwith said ring and roll surfaces.

6. An apparatus such as defined in claim 1` in which said iet projecting means comprises a pipe for compressed air located at one side of said ring; a plate extends along and in contact with the edges of said roll and ring from the pressure zone `therebetween a considerable distance on the discharge side therefrom, one end of said pipe discharging through an opening in said plate; the said scrapers comprise a pair of scraping knives extending at a normal from said plate between said ring and roll surfaces; and spring means are provided for holding the edge of one of said knives against the surface of said `ing and the other against the surface of said roll.

7. In a roller mill the combination of a ring having a smooth imperforate inner surface, a roller having a smooth imperforate external surface positioned within said ring and adapted to roll upon the inner surface thereof along a.v generally horizontal line, smooth scrapers extending transversely of the ring and adapted to bear upon the surfaces of the ring and roller and to form an enclosure therewith, adjacent the discharge side of the high pressure zone, said enclosure having an outlet at one end, and means for directing. a jet of compressed gas intoV and confined within the other end of said enclosure.

8. A roller mill, as defined in claim 7 including a conduit at the outlet end of said enclosure and a closure plate at the inlet end in contact with the ends of said scrapers.

MATTHEW .1. sTAcoM. 

